Sill - Patch or replace

[maximillion]

Hi all, been busy cutting out the rust on my 81 Holdsworth, but so far just the odd patch here and there, then i found this:





Had to resort to cutting an inspection hole to reveal the above, not knowing the exact anatomy of area (or being any great expert) i am assuming that the sill sits on top of the trailing arm mount?

This area was full of large thick rust flakes, and not sure how much sill is left there, the rust extends to the back upright of the sill and an inch or so past the hole to the right.

Whats the best course of action here? A new sill or extend the hole and patch up similar to https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... t#p7520007?
If its a new sill, what the procedure to replace?

Any advice on this would be greatly received.

Thanks

[Plasticman]

Well if it looks sound otherwise then boatbuilders pickies are as clear as they come I think, so follow his lead
mike

[maximillion]

Thanks for the quick reply, think i'll cut out a bit more and see how far the rust goes...

[Plasticman]

Good, do that and then come back here with pickies
mike

[maximillion]

Right, after a weekend off, i got the grinder out and expanded the hole...





Although a bit of surface rust, it feels quite solid...

My (humble) thoughts are to:
patch the hole towards the wheel arch
weld in an angled piece of steel on top on the sill/trailing arm mount and to the back of it
patch the diagonal piece coming down
patch the panel...

Any thoughts on this or other recommendations?

Thanks

[Plasticman]

Yep,you have it right there, make sure you keep patches to the same plane, ie weld the seams in the corners where the originals were so to speak as opposed to patching over,
ta for pickies and post the repairs up as you go along as its great viewing
mike

[maximillion]

Thanks again for the speedy reply, and i will do!

Good to hear i am on the right track...

[faggie]

the only thing i would do is sand blast the area to eliminate any rust before re welding the area

[maximillion]

Got back to it this weekend with the help of a mate and his mig welder.

Cut all the patches, and started to piece it back together, i used a much thicker steel for the outer panel, top left.



I gave all the inaccessible parts a good coat of weld through primer before welding...




Then it all got more primer and some Vactan on anything that i couldn't completely clean up, and on went the repair panel.



This wrapped a little welding, but nothing that a bit of filler wont sort out, just primed it for now to protect it until i get time to finish, i gave all the internal bits a thick layer of undercoat.

[Plasticman]

Can you post the pickies as per last time? I only get the code
mike

[maximillion]

should be ok now, used {i} instead of img by mistake...

[Plasticman]

It is that looks ok, you probably found it easier to do with the partsdas you did as opposed to bodging a patch over the lot, this way you retain much of the strength and integrity of the original,
Boxing over stuff looks pretty but thats all it is.
Mike

[vern4130]

Nice to see that what I've been doing is along the same track as someone else!

What weld thru primer were you using and was it any good? I am not the greatest welder in the world but did really stuggle with the one I used (zinc one from frosts)

Good work anyhow

[maximillion]

I used a Zinc one too, it wasn't great, but welded a lot cleaner on the thicker steel.

[Fin]

Nice.
Think I've got some of this, but I've not had the balls to go prodding at it ...... yet